Here is my blackout poem on the Veldt. I printed out the page to create this poem. I ‘found’ this poem on page 9 of the novel red rising by Pierce Brown.
Technology has its advantages and disadvantages; however, the dangers inherent in consumerism and unchecked progress in science and technology are apparent. Humans may, ironically, be destroyed by their own inventions or arrogance.
Ciara M’s poem ‘Mankind’ explores the theme from Ray Bradbury’s The Veldt on how we are becoming more and more obsessed with technology to a point where it is becoming everything to us. In their line “the weak have deceived you”, it shows you how something so harmless like technology can become a threat over time. As in the story, the veldt, the little children go from being innocent (perceived as ‘the weak’) to being unsensitive and not caring that their parents are gone. they have become accustomed to a life with everything at their fingertips. The line, “the gentle lie that poisoned mankind” draws us a picture of how in todays world one small lie in the media can lead to a big problem for one or many people. For example, someone could post a picture of themselves online and possibly edit it or change it in someway to achieve impossible beauty standards. This could lead to one or many people seeing this photo and comparing themselves to the impossible beauty standards that have been brought to their attention, possibly ruining their confidence or cause them to not love themselves. Simple little things like a photo can have many different powerful impacts on others. Powerful imagery is created through personification in the line “gold rules mankind” revealing how when gold is perceived as technology it is always the normal thing to own every new thing. In the line “i was not raised by love”, it shows how for the kids in the story the veldt as well as children nowadays, they are all being raised by technology. I have never met a child who does not watch YouTube and tv all the time. Ciara M’s story shows how mankind is slowly loosing a battle that they themselves created.
Well done – a compelling poem.